The Gee Whiz Kids® Award is a category of the Heroes of the Heart® Award program designed to honor exemplary children age 12 and under, who represent the heart of America.

Nominate a Child for the The Gee Whiz Kids® Award

The Gee Whiz Kids® Award is designed to honor children who are age 12 and under. To nominate a child for the Gee Whiz Kids® Award simply tell us how your nominee has made a difference in the lives of others through his/her acts of caring and compassion. Please include the following:

• nominee's full name
• parent/guardian's name and complete address
• age & grade level
• home phone number (nominee's will only be contacted for additional information to support their nomination)
• a day time phone number for at least one adult (besides the nominee's parent/guardian) who can serve as a reference for the nominee’s charitable work.

You may include any printed materials (press clippings) or awards pertaining to your nominee.

Nominations are accepted from September 1st to October 31st each year, and should be emailed to: scholarships@heartofamerica.org

or mailed to:

The Heart of America Foundation
c/o Sara Muehlbauer
401 F Street NW, Suite 325
Washington, DC 20001
Attn: Gee Whiz Kids Award

Email your nomination between September 1st and October 31st.

Congratulations to our 2011 Gee Whiz Kids® Award Recipients

Share their stories on Facebook.

1st Place - Joshua from Miami Beach, FL

When Joshua was five years old he began to recognize the need for food aid within his own community and across the world, and decided to start an organization focused on feeding the hungry. With the help of family he founded Joshua’s Heart Foundation, which strives to “Stomp out Hunger” in underprivileged communities and increase awareness of global hunger issues. The organization provides food aid to people in South Florida by hosting regular food distributions, and is looking to expand its reach to other parts of Florida and the nation.

In addition to providing food aid, the Foundation also renovated a local teen center. Joshua raised the money needed for the renovation by asking people to make a donation to his Foundation in lieu of gifts for his eighth birthday. He raised $5,000, which was used to donate computers, desks, and furniture.

Most recently, Joshua launched a program to provide backpacks of food to school children to help ensure children have food available to them over weekends and school vacations. Each backpack is filled with child-friendly, nonperishable food items, and discreetly distributed before a child leaves school.

Five years after his initial idea to help people, Joshua is in 6th grade and his organization provides much needed food relief for over 100 homeless people, and about 450 families on a monthly basis. In all, Joshua’s Heart Foundation has distributed over 300,000 pounds of food, serving over 7,000 people in need. For more information about Joshua’s Heart Foundation, visit joshuasheart.org.

2nd Place - Sarah from Leesburg, OH

Sarah is an active participant in the Highland County 4-H program. In 2010, the program was struggling to raise the necessary $50,000 in annual local funding to support a 2011 season. Recognizing the importance of 4-H, Sarah, at the tender age of ten, raised nearly $32,000 to help save the program in Highland County.

Sarah raised much of the funds by donating proceeds from the sale of her market lamb. She spent nearly 150 hours speaking with the news media, clubs, and schools to generate interest in 4-H, and rallied donors to bid over $12,900 for her lamb – which generally would sell for about $450. All proceeds from the sale went toward the County’s 4-H program. Approximately 130 other exhibitors, impressed by her efforts, enthusiasm and vision, also donated all or part of their proceeds, which brought in another $9,000. Finally, her efforts convinced and inspired three local businesses to contribute $10,000 to the 4-H program, bringing her yearend total to just under $32,000 and providing much needed support to continue the program.

After funding was secured for 2011, Sarah turned her attention to raising money for the 2012 season. To kick off her fundraising she implemented the “Yes We Can” campaign with the help of the Marshall Stockmen 4-H Club. An aluminum can collection campaign, “Yes We Can” promotes recycling and environmentalism and all proceeds benefit the 2012 4-H season. When speaking about 4-H, Sarah said, “4H isn’t about pigs and sheep and cows, it’s about kids learning to become self-sufficient, to grow into tomorrow’s leaders. Letting this program fail would be letting yourself down.” So far the campaign has collected over half a million cans, amassing over $16,000.

3rd Place - Gabrielle from Mason, OH

Gabrielle is passionate about serving people in her community, and helping people in need around the world. She is an active volunteer at a nursing home in West Chester during Easter and Christmas, as well as a regular visitor at Cedar Village retirement community in Mason, OH throughout the rest of the year.

Since early 2011 she has served as a Junior Volunteer at Cedar Village, contributing more than 70 hours helping residents with physical therapy, guiding them to and from the lunch room, and assisting nurses. She has played the violin since she was seven, and will often play a few pieces while the residents eat lunch, or during special occasions. She continues to serve at Cedar Village throughout the school year for three hours each week.

In addition to her work at Cedar Village, Gabrielle often raises money through hosting concerts outside her local grocery stores. With the help of her older brother, she raised over $1,800 for the American Red Cross to support international disaster relief.

On top of her other volunteer activities, Gabrielle also teamed up with her brother to fundraise for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and to collect toys for the Shriner’s Hospital for Children. By selling cold water to spectators on hot, summer days at the soccer field, she and her brother raised nearly $600 for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Then, they collected over 200 stuffed animals and toys for children in the burn unit of the Shriner’s Hospital for Children.

An excellent student with a passion for serving others, The Heart of America Foundation® is proud to recognize Gabrielle’s commitment to service!

Past Gee Whiz Kids Award Recipients:

2010 Gee Whiz Kids® Award Recipients

1st Place – Alexander from Lee's Summit, MO
2nd Place – Anthony from Columbia, SC
3rd Place – Marlee from Saginaw, MI

2009 Gee Whiz Kids® Award Recipients

1st Place – Joelie from Sand Springs, OK
2nd Place – Kamish from Carrollton, TX
3rd Place – Coree from Wayne, NJ

2008 Gee Whiz Kids® Award Recipients

1st Place – Coral Park Elementary School
2nd Place – McKenna Heffner of Corning, NY
3rd Place – Rebekah Makin of East Brunswick, NJ